The circle was the most amazing experience I have ever had, and gave me a glimpse of what it could feel like to live in harmony and community with all of our fellow man. Simply, to love one another without prejudice, judgement or fear of any kind. To love everyone as if we were one... as that is what we are!
After all the ceremony and prayers and lessons were shared while we all gatherered closely together in the center, we silently spread out to a large circle and together we all recited aloud, international prayers for peace... When we were done, we all knelt down and pressed our hands into our Mother Earth, so that she too could feel our intentions of love, for ourselves, eachother and for her especially.
I share these with you, so that you too may realize we are all one and we all need everyone, to bring our unique and special gifts to the world...
BAHA'I PRAYER FOR PEACE
Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity.
Be fair in thy judgement and guarded in thy speech.
Be a lamp unto those who walk in darkness, and a home to the stranger.
Be eyes to the bnlind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring.
Be a breath of life to the body of humankind,
a dew to the soil of the human heart,
and a fruit upon the tree of humility.
BUDDHIST PRAYER FOR PEACE
May those frightened cease to be afraid, and may those bound be free.
May the powerless find power and may people think of befriending one another.
May those who find themselves in trackless, fearful wildernesses - the children,
the aged and the unprotected - be guarded by beneficent celestials,
and may they swiftly attain Buddhahood.
CHRISTIAN PRAYER FOR PEACE
Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they shall be known as the Childred of God.
But I say to you that here, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you and pray for those who abuse you.
To those who strike you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from
those who take away your cloak, do not withhold your coat as well.
Give to everyone who begs from you and of those who take away your goods,
do not ask them again. And, as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
HINDU PRAYER FOR PEACE
Oh God, lead us from the unreal to the real.
Oh God, lead us from darkness to light.
Oh God, lead us from death to immortaility.
Shanti, Shanti, Shanti, unto all.
Oh Lord God Almighty, may there be peace in celestial regions.
May there be peace on earth. May the waters be appeasing.
May herbs be wholesome and may trees and plants bring peace to all.
May all beneficent beings bring peace to us.
May thy Vedic Law propagate peace all through the world.
May all things be a source of peace to us.
And may thy peace itself, bestow peace on all,
and may that peace come to me also.
JAINIST PRAYER FOR PEACE
Peace and Universal Love is the essence of the Gospel preached by all the Enlightened Ones.
The Lord has preached that equanimity is the Dharma.
Forgive do I creatures all, and let all creatures forgive me.
Unto all have I amity, and unto none emnity.
Know that violence if the root cause of all miseries in the world.
Violence, in fact, is the knot of bondage.
"Do not injure any living being"
This is the eternal, perennial, and unalterable way of spiritual life.
A weapon, howsoever powerful it may be, can always be superceded by a superior one;
But no weapon can, however, be superior to nonviolence and love.
JEWISH PRAYER FOR PEACE
Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,that we may walk the paths of the Most High.
And we shall beat our swords into ploughshares,and our spears into pruning hooks.
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation - neither shall they learn war anymore.
And none shall be afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of Hosts has spoken.
MUSLIM PRAYER FOR PEACE
In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful.
Praise be to the Lord of the Universe, who has created us and made us into tribes and nations.
That we may know each other, not that we may despise each other.
If the enemy incline towards peace, do though also incline towards peace,
and trust God, for the Lord is the one that heareth and knoweth all things.
And the servants of God, most gracious are those who walk on the earth in humility.
And when we address them, we say PEACE.
NATIVE AFRICAN PRAYER FOR PEACE
Almighty God, the Great Thumb, we cannot evade to tie any knot;
The roaring thunder that splits mighty trees;
The all-seeing Lord up on high who sees even the footprints of an antelope
on a rock mass here on earth.
You are the one who does not hesitate to respond to our call.
You are the cornerstone of peace.
NATIVE AMERICAN PRAYER FOR PEACE
O Great Spirit of our Ancestors, I raise my pipe to you.
To your messengers the four winds, and to Mother Earth who provides for your children.
Give us the wisdom to teach our children to love, to respect and to be kind to each other.
So that they may grow with peace in mind.
Let us learn to share all good things that you provide for us on this Earth.
SHINTO PRAYER FOR PEACE
Although the people living across the ocean surrounding us, I believe are all our brothers and sisters.
Why are there constant troubles in the world
Why do winds and waves rise in the ocean surrounding us
I only earnestly wish that the wind will soon puff away all the clouds,
which are hanging over the tops of the mountains.
SIKH PRAYER FOR PEACE
God adjudges us according to our deeds, not the coat that we wear.
That Truth is above everything, but higher still is truthful living.
Know that we attaineth God when we loveth,
and only that victory endures in consequences of which no one is defeated.
ZOROASTRIAN PRAYER FOR PEACE
We pray to God to eradicate all the misery in the world;
that understanding triumph over ignorance,
that generosity triumph over indifference,
that trust triumph over contempt
and that truth triumph over falsehood.
This photo shows about 1/16th (if that) of the entire circle... It was just amazing to be a part of!
